Improving the Discharge Experience of Hospital Patients Through Standard Tools and Methods of Education

Discharge education is essential to patient health and care coordination. Patient satisfaction with discharge education reveals a hospital's ability to provide reliable, quality experiences that engage and prepare patients for recovery in the community. The purpose of this study was to examine and improve patient satisfaction with discharge preparation by providing timely, standardized methods of educating patients about their medical condition, discharge needs, and follow-up care. This project provided nursing and the care team with training in effective techniques such as the teach-back method as well as new tools like a discharge folder to be successful. Provider workflows were redesigned, and the discharge education document was changed to ensure appropriate information was provided to patients. Patient perspective and satisfaction with their degree of preparedness for discharge were measured using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. After intervention, an improvement in the HCAHPS survey top box percent score for the domains of Care Transitions, 52.41%-54.49% (p < .0001) and Discharge Information, 87.38-90.12% (p < .0001), was noted. Increasing scores for HCAHPS questions pertinent to discharge suggest the intervention improved patient satisfaction with discharge information and preparation for recovery outside the hospital.